There is already a location for the first sample repository on Mars

Oct. 28 () –

NASA and ESA have entered into an agreement to create a repository for sample tubes on Mars, one more step in the program to bring them to Earth on future missions.

The sample repository, or cache, you will be in “Three Forks”, an area located near the base of an ancient river delta in Jezero Craterwhere the Perseverance rover currently operates taking samples that it stores in sealed tubes for that purpose.

This cache will contain carefully selected rock samples on the surface of Mars, samples that can help tell the story of Jezero Crater and how Mars evolved. and perhaps they might even contain signs of ancient life.

Scientists believe that samples taken from the delta’s fine-grained sedimentary rocks, deposited in a lake billions of years ago, are the most likely to contain indicators of whether microbial life existed. when the climate of Mars was very different from today.

“Never before has a scientifically selected collection of samples from another planet been collected and placed to return to Earth,” he said. it’s a statement Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

“NASA and ESA have reviewed the proposed site and the Mars samples that will be deployed for this cache next month. When that first tube lands on the surface, it will be a historic moment in space exploration.“, he added.

DUPLICATE SAMPLES

The sample cache, a duplicate set of the collection Perseverance will keep on board, is part of a solid plan to ensure mission success. The Perseverance rover will be the primary means of transporting collected samples to the Mars Launch Vehicle as part of the campaign, which plans to send the sample mission in 2027 and arrive on Earth in 2033. The Three Forks depot will serve as a reserve, housing the duplicate set.

“Choosing the first repository on Mars makes this exploration campaign very real and tangible. Now we have a place to revisit with samples waiting for us there,” said David Parker, Director of Human and Robotic Exploration at ESA.

“That we are able to implement this plan so early in the campaign is a testament to the skill of the international team of engineers and scientists working on Perseverance and the Mars Sample Return program. The first Mars sample repository can be seen as an important step in reducing the Risks of the Mars Sample Return Campaign”.

The first step of the campaign is already underway. Since Perseverance landed in Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021, the rover has explored 13.2 kilometers of the martian surface and has collected 14 rock core samples during his first two scientific campaigns.

In the course of its first science campaign, the rover explored the crater floor, an ancient lake bed, and found igneous rocks that form deep underground from magma or during volcanic activity on the surface. The second scientific campaign has stood out for the investigation of sedimentary rocks, formed when particles of various sizes settled in the once-aqueous environment.

The rover also collected an atmospheric sample and three witness tubes. The core tubes contain material that helps identify potential ground contamination in the tubes that may have come from the rover during sampling operations.